River Day 08/26/2013

(Pre-winter wood pile)

Another quiet River Day this week; probably because you can feel summer starting to wind down.  The leaves haven't started changing yet, but there's a definite difference in the air that you can feel.  Jay, Tim and I were the only Rivertarians around this Monday, but Judy was at the camp, and we got our regular visit from Freddy.  Once again we had nice, mild weather.  Probably a good thing, since Jay brought down a trailer stacked high with pallets and other scrap wood for the pile.  Another 5 degrees and a higher humidity level would have made the unloading pretty miserable.  Where's Ted when you need him?

Of course any time we have a wood gathering, or delivery even, we have to build a fire (don't we always?), so we did.  It may not have been the biggest we've ever built, but it was plenty.  I think we only burned one of the many pallets that Jay brought down.

All three of us did a good bit of fishing, and a small amount of catching.  Nothing major, but at least they're still biting (despite, or because of, the consistently high water levels).  There's still no way to get out into the main current (on foot anyway), which we would normally be able to do at this time of year.

 Can't think of a better way to start every week than to spend River Day with good friends.

River Day 08/19/2013

Just like every other week this summer, the river was still running way above normal for this time of year on Monday.  It actually rose quite a bit in the hours that we were there enjoying River Day.  Jay, Tim, and I (Mark) initially fished below the camp, and by the time we were ready to walk back up to the camp, the path back was under water.  The good news is, all three of us caught fish, either at that spot, or the usual spot in front of the camp.

Ted also made it down this week, and from the photos (sorry Ted), he must have been tired. Ron and Judy were at their camper as well this week.

The weather was mild again, and at least we didn't have any rain.  Even though it wasn't needed, we did have a nice little fire going (can you even have River Day without a fire?).

This was the first Monday in a while that we've had the regular group all show up; hopefully, it'll continue for a while.

River Day 08/12/2013

Only Jay and I (Mark) were at the river this week for River Day.  Even Ron and Judy weren't around this Monday.  We had good weather again, but still built a small fire.  It doesn't seem like the river level is ever going to drop to its normal late summer level, so all of our fishing was done in the eddy pool directly in front of the camp.  We were fairly successful, and "slew" several fish - sadly I mean that literally, but that was really the fish's fault.

Not much activity around the camp, but we did get a visit from Freddy, 7 geese, and two puppies (or river dogs).

As always, a great way to start the week.

River Day 07/29/2013

"I'm not touching that thing."

Only three Rivertarians were able to make it down this week (Jay, Tim and I), but that didn't stop us from having a good holiday.  The weather was nice, even though it was much cooler than the last month or so; mid 70's, and the humidity was more comfortable also.

The river was up again (if it ever actually went down) and pretty muddy.  The three of us all fished, mostly in the eddy pool in front of the camp.  Every one caught a few, but Tim took the record with the biggest, ugliest sucker that any of us had seen pulled out of the river.  We also caught a few small-mouth bass, and a couple of small red-eyes.

We did have a little fire going, but we didn't spend much time around.  No matter what the weather is, a fire on the river is always appropriate.

Judy and Ron were at the camp this week, but I don't think we bother them very much, and they certainly don't bother us. 

I think that everyone is in agreement that "tomato" starts with "p".  You had to be there.

River Day 07/15/2013

We had a visitor with us for this week's River Day celebration - William.  He made the trip down while on leave - at least now he's got something to brag about when he gets back.  Ted, Jay, Tim and I (Mark) also all made it to the river.  We had great weather this week, sunshine and mid 80's.

Surprisingly, the river is still running high for this time of year, so there was really only one spot for fishing.  I ended up catching a few right in front of the camp, but nothing anywhere else, because of the current. 

As warm as it was, it still would have been wrong not have had a fire, especially since we had company.  So we had one.  Maybe not the biggest, but certainly the best one on the river. 

Freddy dropped in on us for our weekly chat.  Even Freddy's doctor visit stories are good.  And of course Judy (okay...Mom) was there this week.  Can't blame her for living at the camp while the weather is good.

I didn't think to take any photos at the time, but there were a couple of military helicopters flying the gorge this week, probably related to the National Boyscout Jamboree going on at the top of the mountain. 

Once again, a great River Day!

River Day 07/08/2013

Another quiet (and early) River Day celebration this week, coming right on the heels of the 4th of July weekend.  Jay, Ted, and I (Mark) were the only ones able to make it down (unless you count Judy), everyone else was MIA, including Freddy.

As hot and muggy as it was, a fire was still in order, if for nothing else, to burn up the debris from the high water over the weekend.  The river was up several feet, but thankfully was receding steadily.  Jay and I both tried to do a little fishing, but with the weird water level, weren't very successful.  Oh well, you can't catch anything if you aren't trying.

While Jay and I were practicing our casting, Ted spend most of his time raking up the high water mess and dumping it onto the fire.  Everything was pretty wet, so at the very least we had a good gnat smoke (for 2 or 3 counties).

Just like the national holiday (the real one), River Day was very peaceful.  We did see Leo stirring around, but no one came over and talked to us this week.

Once again I forgot to bring my camera, so the one picture I'm posting here was taken with my cell phone.

On a side note, I have noticed that this blog is no longer number 1 when doing a Google search for "national river day".  I think we can attribute that to the lack of steady posts over the last few months.  We'll try to do better and make sure there's an update once a week.

River Day 07/01/2013

No pictures this week, but we did indeed celebrate the holiday.  Kevin, Tim, Jay, Ted, and I (Mark) all made it down to the river.  We used to refer to it as Monday night at the river, but it seems like the arrival and departure times keep getting earlier.

We did have nice weather this week; warm, partly cloudy, a few sprinkles.  The river level is at that in-between stage; too low to fish from the bank in front of the camp, a little too high to get out on the rocks nearer the current.  That doesn't mean we didn't try, though.  Everyone but Ted at least gave it a good shot.

Things were quiet around the camp this week, and we did get our regular visit from Freddy.  He always has some words of wisdom, and he had a couple of quotables this week:

"Don't try to pick up a snake, just kill it."  And even better than that:  "Never try to save a chipmunk from a cat.  It'll tear you a new ass."  Words to live by.

Even though it was an early one, it was, and always is, a great way to start the week.

Happy Independence Day from the Rivertarian Party!